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Perry Hall Park

  • Thread starter Thread starter Foley
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Hi Nick and thanks for the welcome..
The name Saywells rings a bell..
I use to live in Derrydown Road about midway on the Park side..
You didnt happen to know one of the Birkins who lived in Derrydown Road at the top end(Rocky Lane)?
 
Hi Gaz. We sometimes used to walk up Derrydown on the way to Dorrington rd Schools, infants and junior, and used to take the short cut through the right of way at the top of Derrydown. The head teachers at both Schools were Miss Kirkham and Mr Aspinall, probably changed by the time you went there. The Saywells owned a cycle shop somewhere in Aston so perhaps you new them from when you were there. The son, Renee I think, had a Claud Butler bike which we all lusted after and used to work for Tucker Eyelets back in the mid sixties. Sorry didn't know the Birkins, or at least unable to remember if I did.
 
If you came up Derrydown, about half way there was a right of way(Park side) on the left(leading down to rear and garages)..I lived next but one to this right of way.
I use to take the shotcut through the right of way that brought you out at the back of the church(Perry Hall Methodist Church), do you remember the little stream that you had to jump over that came out under the fence of someones garden?

From Dorrington Road School I remember the teachers:- Mrs Doogood and Mr Mullins.
 
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I remember that there was an entrance into Perry Hall playing fields from the right of way and there was a spring that we used to mess around and end up going home with wet feet. I picked some lilies from the fence around the church one day and took them home for my Mother, unfortunately she called them death lilies and threw them in the bin, still I tried.
 
This is me on the Park Keepers Tractor taken in August 1964(I would be 10 years old)

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This is me(on front) and my brother taken in August 1964(I was 10 years old)
You can just see my mom standing in the back door of the cafe she ran.

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nickcc101 said:
Great photos brings back many memories, was that the Parkies hat and bike ?
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Yes it was Nick....we use to get away with murder in that park because my mom worked there.
I can remember the times the river use to flood right across to where the football pitches were(are?) and nearly up to the moat, the park was closed(for safety) but we were allowed in...
 
We always looked for water rats when the river flooded, what a black smelly river that was. My friend Arthur's Father was friends with the men who cut down the trees and stored them in the playing fields, every bonfire night we always had the best bonfire for miles around in the right of way (gully) as we used to get loads of tree cuttings. One year Mr Kearney had stored all his fireworks in his garage, the bonfire was just a few feet away, when a stray spark set the lot off, great fun for us but not for Mr Kearney.
 
River's a lot cleaner now, Nick, - you can actually see the bottom and, surprise, surprise, there's fish and aquatic vegetation in there too....
We also raided the wood yard by the railway at the back end of the park and some of our bonfires were pretty huge as well (not as big as yours though!). I remember once acquiring, (from somewhere - possibly someone else's bonfire) a tatty old armchair which some how got set alight whilst we were dragging it down the right-of-way. We of course got into huge trouble for this and were made to clear up the trail of ash and debris - during the course of which we discovered an old rusty revolver which must have, somehow, been lost in the depths of the chair. - Strange things some people lose! When I refer to 'we' in this reminiscence, I refer to my self and Garick Gregory - I wonder what became of him?
Gary, I like your photos - espescially the one of your best friend standing on the wall dividing the moat from the paddling pool (which is no longer there). The moat looks very wide but now, as I'm older and bigger, it appears to have shrunk in width and islands of (managed) vegetation have grown up in it. I wonder what happened to the paddle boats and also what became of the model steam engine which ran, before my time, from the end of the water garden back towards the moat - I just remember the nissan hut, in which it was stored.
 
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Hello Avena. I remember finding some great car mats hanging on the chaps fence opposite yours, thought they were rubbish and put them on the bonfire pile outside my garage, shortly after the chap came round asking for them back as he'd only left them there to dry :). I went to tech college with Roddy but lost touch with Roddy and Garrick after I left home in 1970. Great to hear from you brings back many happy (most of the time) memories.
 
Regarding Perry Hall playing fields - I am surprised no one's mentioned the ack-ack and searchlight batteries that were there during the war (is everyone too young?), A real fascination for us young lads. After the family got tired of going down the shelter during the blitz, I used to watch the searchlights raking the sky and the flashes from the guns during the air raids through my bedroom window.
 
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As I was born towards the end of 45 I can't remember the guns in the playing fields. I lived in Dewsbury grove for 25 years so can remember the fun we had going around the old gun emplacements in the playing fields and the air raid shelters on Walsall road. A member of my Family was the Midwife who delivered most of the Children who were born in the Nissan huts in Perry Hall, Perry Barr and Great Barr, unfortunately she passed away in the early fifties at a young age.
Great to read of your reminiscences as not many memories of this area on this forum.
 
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Regarding the Regina Lodge in post#85 there is a thread Regina Drive, Perry Barr showing modern pics and then someone who came on the forum said they had lived in it and posted a pic of her family standing in front of it in post#21. In post#31 someone else came on the forum and said they had bought it. On streetview today there are 9 cars on it's drive.
 
I think the sale of the Perry Estate will shed much light on Perry Village, but it may be better to put all together under the Thread for Perry Village.
 
On the 1st February 1928 the Gazette carries the plan of the purchase for Playing Fields for the north of Birmingham. 25 acres to be allocated for allotments....No mention of Hall demolision.


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Astoness said:
again great photos two....now living a stones throw from where the hall was what a delight it would have been for me to have this great building on my doorstep and now it has gone for ever and the great tragedy is it was not in disrepair...falling down or derelict...:(
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Replaced by the parkeepers hut and the Cafe when I lived in Dewsbury Grove, not really a suitable replacement in my opinion.
 
My house was in Lavendon Road, we backed onto the Park. I went to Dorrington, between 1970-77. I spent many happy hours on the paddle boats before they finished how lovely your mum ran the cafe.
 
The times I played football in the Festival Lge in my youth on the pitches Snow Ice rain.But all good fun.
 
There has been discussion on this thread of Dorrington Road school - this discussion has been moved to a new thread here:

Dorrington Road Infant and Junior School

We sometimes used to walk up Derrydown on the way to Dorrington rd Schools, infants and junior, and used to take the short cut through the right of way at the top of Derrydown. The head teachers at both Schools were Miss Kirkham and Mr Aspinall, probably changed by the time you went there. The...
birminghamhistory.co.uk birminghamhistory.co.uk

Viv.
 
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nickcc101 said:
Hi Gaz. We sometimes used to walk up Derrydown on the way to Dorrington rd Schools, infants and junior, and used to take the short cut through the right of way at the top of Derrydown. The head teachers at both Schools were Miss Kirkham and Mr Aspinall, probably changed by the time you went there. The Saywells owned a cycle shop somewhere in Aston so perhaps you new them from when you were there. The son, Renee I think, had a Claud Butler bike which we all lusted after and used to work for Tucker Eyelets back in the mid sixties. Sorry didn't know the Birkins, or at least unable to remember if I did.
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This is a very old post now I'm replying to. My Nan lived next door to the Saywells In Derrydown Road overlooking Perry Hall Park and they did have a cycle shop. Their son was called Brian. Mrs Saywell was very ladylike and dressed beautifully.
 
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